Militants rally vs ‘Arroyo-backed’ party-list groups

Militant groups on Monday picketed in front of the main office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila to urge the poll body to immediately disqualify nominees of party-list groups allegedly associated with the Arroyo administration. The rally was led by poll watchdog Kontra Daya, which said that under Section 6 of Republic Act 7941 or the Party-List Law, the Comelec on its own can cancel "at any time" the registration of any group "who seeks to abuse and violate" the party-list system. "The Comelec on its own may act to preserve the integrity of the party list system if it finds, even if no complaints are filed, that either the party-list organization or the nominee lacks the qualifications required by law and has abused the party list system in violation of the law," the group said. The groups were also questioning the nominees of these party-list groups, noting that some of them were obvious allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. File complaints The Comelec, for its part, said it would act on the case as long as complaints are filed, noting that it could not just disqualify nominees without giving the aggrieved parties a chance to explain themselves. "Instead of wasting time complaining about it, just get on with it. I mean too much time is wasted on scenario building. Too much time is wasted on complaining [and] whining. Just do it. If you have a beef against someone, file a case," said Comelec spokesman James Jimenez. The deadline for the filing of complaints is on Thursday. Arroyo allies as nominees Other groups who joined Monday's protest action were Migrante, Kilusang Mayo Uno, Gabriela, and Kadamay. Kontra Daya convener Ferdinand Gaite said that based on the initial list of nominees they obtained last Friday, a number of administration allies and former Cabinet officials would be fielded as party-list nominees. Among those he mentioned were presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo; Dennis Pineda, the outgoing mayor of Lubao, Pampanga, and son of Lilia and Bong Pineda. Last Friday, Malacañang confirmed the resignation of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, who will represent transport group 1-Utak in the party-list elections. Abusing the system "This is a farce and obvious circumvention of the party-list system. Pambabalasubas ang ginagawa nang rehimeng GMA dito sa halalaan para masigurado na madodomina niya ang House of Representatives," Gaite told GMANews.TV. (The government of President Arroyo is abusing the elections to ensure she would dominate the House of Representatives.) President Arroyo, who is seeking a congressional seat in her home province of Pampanga, is rumored to be eyeing the House speakership, which would allow her to initiate moves to rewrite the 1987 Constitution. Critics have said that once the form of government is changed from the current presidential system to a parliamentary, Mrs. Arroyo can aspire to become prime minister and become head of the country again. In a statement, Kontra Daya said it is “discouraged" to file complaints against some 30 party-list groups with questionable nominees as the Comelec charges P5,000 for every disqualification case against a nominee. Jimenez dismissed the arguments that filing fees are expensive, saying the poll body can always "brush aside technicalities in the interest of substantive justice." - KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV